April in Carneros - Windy but Successful!

So, I guess I can't even count to 3 or 4, because I've lost count of how many events I've done now. I think April in Carneros was my 3rd. Woo hoo! Can you imagine my excitement when I get to counting fingers on a second hand?! The weather was EXTREMELY cold and windy. It felt more like January than April. But I sold a lot of bags, met some wonderful fellow vendors, drank some absolutely delicious wine, and had fabulous helpers (my older daughter the first day, my younger daughter the second day).

The event was all day Saturday and all day Sunday. On Saturday, I sold a lot of purses, so I went home that evening and whipped out 4 more purses, so I'd have a good selection for the next day. I was extremely tired and bleary-eyed--being in the wind had chapped my skin and lips, and I felt like I had spent the entire day at the ocean or something. Of course, I wasn't at the ocean, but I was at the event for 7+ hours, setting up, selling, tearing down, driving back home...but when I got home, I pushed myself to make those bags. Of course, the next day, people only bought my accessories--wristlets, coin purses, etc., and I only sold 2 purses, neither of which were the ones I had forced myself to make the night before. Ain't that just the way??? Murphy--I kinda hate you.

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New Home Page Photo

"Loujy"--that's what my mother would call me when I was irresponsible as a kid. It was her pronunciation of "lousy". Well, I see that I am definitely a loujy blogger. I'm so inconsistent!

But I did manage to stop sewing long enough to take some photos of my new bags--the PoongSung Purse. I love these bags--the gathering gives them that slouchy, hip look, but they're also big enough to hold a lot of stuff. I have to handsew the handles, which makes the process a bit more cumbersome--but I love to handsew, and I think the result is definitely worth it.

This weekend, I'll be selling my bags at the Carneros in April event at Cline Cellars in Sonoma. I'll be there both Saturday and Sunday. I'm having each of my daughters help me one of the days. I'll pay them for their time, of course. And it will give me some company during the long days, as well as allow for bathroom breaks and the like.

I am also working on some large overnight and garment bags. I made one out of Amy Butler's pattern, but I wasn't so happy with the result. It LOOKS pretty, but the functionality and the stability of the lining are questionable. I'll be developing my own version soon.

I also bought some ADORABLE metal purse frames for small coin purses. Look for pics of those soon, too. I'm so excited about them. They are so cute!

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